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Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling announced today that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will appear before the committee on February 27 at 10 a.m. to deliver the semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress. Chairman Hensarling said, "The Federal Reserve's concerns about the economy are well founded. Our nation continues to struggle with weak economic growth and chronically high unemployment that leaves millions of Americans lying awake at night pondering insecure financial futures for themselves and their families. However, our economy is not suffering from a problem that monetary policy can solve. Our economy is stressed because of misguided Washington fiscal policies that tax more, borrow more, regulate more and spend more. The Fed's high-risk strategy of accommodative monetary policy produces little or no marginal benefit but, in the long run, could result in high inflation or high interest rates that send us back into recession. It's time to face the reality that we have reached the limits to anything monetary policy can do to help the economy." The Federal Reserve is required to report to the Financial Services Committee twice a year on the conduct of monetary policy and the state of the economy.

The market got hit when the Fed said that "several on FOMC said Fed should be prepared to vary pace of QE." Immediately, large trades went off in broad stock-related ETFs like the SPDR S&P 500, and stocks began drifting lower. It's pretty simple: less QE=bad for stocks.

Primary Dealers Play Shrinking Role at Treasury Auctions Bloomberg The 21 primary dealers required to bid at government-debt auctions are playing a smaller part in the offerings as investors buy more securities directly from the Treasury, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Direct bidders are on a pace to take ... and more&nbsp;&raquo;

JPMorgan Said to Seek First Sale of Mortgage Bonds Since Crisis Businessweek JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. is seeking to sell securities tied to new U.S. home loans without government backing in its first offering since the financial crisis that the debt helped trigger. The deal may close this month, according to a person familiar with the ...

The Federal Reserve will buy bonds from a larger group of broker-dealers under a one-year pilot program meant to strengthen the U.S. central bank's direct involvement in financial markets. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which carries out the Fed's monthly purchase of $85 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds, now does direct business with 21 so-called primary dealers such as JPMorgan Chase & Co and UBS AG .

Merkel Says Euro Has &#39;Long Way&#39; to Go Before Crisis Is Overcome Businessweek German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the euro area has a "long way" ahead before it overcomes the three-year-old debt crisis even though measures to boost competitiveness and cut debt are bearing fruit. "We&#39;ve achieved much but still have a lot of work ... and more&nbsp;&raquo;

Fed to Test Allowing Smaller Broker-Dealers as Counterparties Businessweek The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said it will test allowing "small broker-dealers" to act as counterparties in sales and purchases of Treasuries for the central bank&#39;s portfolio. The New York Fed will conduct a one-year pilot program that will let as many as ... and more&nbsp;&raquo;

Massive government budget cuts set to go into effect March 1 would be, "deeply destructive" to all aspects of the housing market, US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan told a Senate panel last week. Here's why.

Today we're in Washington, DC for a discussion on issues facing consumers. Watch here for remarks about the Bureau's 2012 accomplishments from CFPB Director Richard Cordray, followed by discussion by the Consumer Advisory Board, testimony from consumer groups, industry representatives, and members of the public.

Is housing slowing down? January housing starts, at 890,000, was below expectations of 925,000 (December was revised upward), which follows the poor showing of the National Association of Home Builders builder sentiment index, out yesterday.

Limited Mortgage Finance Role for U.S. Government Gains Support Bloomberg A bipartisan panel including former secretaries of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and retired U.S. senators is preparing to release a proposal for scaling back the government role in mortgage finance that would put taxpayer dollars at risk ... and more&nbsp;&raquo;

Limited Mortgage Finance Role for US Government Gains Support Businessweek A bipartisan panel including former secretaries of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and retired U.S. senators is preparing to release a proposal for scaling back the government role in mortgage finance that would put taxpayer dollars at risk ...

The business of buying-and-renting houses, long dominated by local mom-and-pop investors, has morphed over the past two years into one of the hottest investments on Wall Street. Now foreign firms are jumping into the pool.

By Rick Rothacker (Reuters) &#8211; Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Brian Moynihan&#8217;s pay increased 73 percent in 2012 from the previous year to $12.1 million, as the bank gave him a bigger package of stock awards. The second-largest U.S. bank gave Moynihan a raise when other CEOs on [...]

Distinguished Panel Holds that MERS' "had the authority twice over to assign" &nbsp; Reston, Virginia, February 19, 2013- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued a ruling favorable to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.'s role and authority as mortgagee by affirming a U.S. District Court dismissal in Culhane v. Aurora . " MERS' role as mortgagee of record and custodian of the bare legal interest as nominee for the member-noteholder, and the member-noteholder's role as owner of the beneficial interest in the loan, fit comfortably with each other and fit comfortably within the structure of Massachusetts mortgage law," Senior Circuit Judge Bruce M. Selya wrote on behalf of the panel. "[T]here is no reason to doubt the legitimacy of the common arrangement whereby MERS holds bare legal title as mortgagee of record and the noteholder alone enjoys the beneficial interest in the loan." The panel also held that MERS' use of signing officers complies with Massachusetts law. Judge Selya was joined by Chief Judge Sandra L. Lynch and the Honorable David H. Souter, Associate Justice (Ret.) of the U.S. Supreme Court, sitting by designation. While the panel did rule that in Massachusetts a homeowner may, in limited circumstances, challenge a mortgage assignment, it cautioned, however, that such circumstances were limited to where the challenge was being made against an "invalid, ineffective, or void" assignment. In November 2011, Judge William G. Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts dismissed this case . "The Court holds that there was no flaw in this process. Under Massachusetts law, MERS lawfully held the legal title to Culhane's mortgage in trust first for Preferred and subsequently for Deutsche," Judge Young wrote. "ven after the most careful scrutiny, it appears that MERS works...

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